ONE of the main reasons for Britain's poor medals haul at the Olympic Games in Atlanta is claimed to be pathetic support at local and national level for training and developing athletes of world-beating calibre.

The news that Bolton Sports Village and leisure complex has moved nearer to reality certainly won't mean a fistful of medals at the next Olympics. But this is precisely the sort of serious thinking towards developing sports activities and facilities that experts believe is needed to avoid Britain turning into a nation of TV-watching couch-potatoes.

Admittedly, much of the complex will feature leisure and retail units. But anything that boosts our attitude towards sport - even if it's only the theme of such complexes - could play a part in influencing our whole approach to competitiveness at local, national and international level.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.